A Sherwood woman accused of strangling her 11-year-old daughter to death had a "psychotic episode" days before the girl was killed, her husband told investigators.

Patrick Buckley, 41, said his wife, Kristina, was demonstrating "paranoid and delusional behavior" during the episode, according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant filed in Washington County Circuit Court. He took his wife to a psychiatrist, who prescribed "anti-psychotic medication," the affidavit says.

But her mental problems continued, and the doctor, Patrick Buckley told police, upped the dosage of her medication the day before their daughter's death.

Kristina Buckley, 38, told police she strangled her daughter, Cecilia, with her hands until she believed the girl was dead in part because she wanted to "save and protect" her from pedophiles, according to court records. Buckley was arrested Wednesday morning after being released from medical care, according to the Sherwood Police Dept. She is now in Washington County Jail without bail on a murder charge.

Shortly before 5 p.m. on June 2, police and fire crews responded to the 17600 block of Southwest Galewood Drive after receiving a report that a child was injured. Inside the home, police found Patrick Buckley performing CPR on Cecilia, and they also tried to help resuscitate the unresponsive girl, the affidavit says. She was transported to Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy completed June 3 determined that the girl's cause of death was homicide, consistent with strangulation.

Police determined Kristina Buckley was locked in a bathroom inside the home. They forced entry into the room, and found her, holding a kitchen knife, with self-inflicted cuts to her wrists and neck, according to court records. Officers, holding her at gunpoint, demanded she drop the weapon, and she immediately complied.

Police placed Kristina Buckley in handcuffs, and emergency medical responders tended to her injuries. She began talking to herself – at times "rambling incoherently" – and rocking back and forth, according to court records. She twice passed out.

"Everyone is in on a conspiracy to abuse my daughter," Kristina Buckley said, according to the affidavit. She continued, "What kind of mother would leave their daughter with these evil people?"

Detectives found that "she had fixated on child abuse as an evil she was saving her daughter from," the affidavit states.

View full sizeEmily E. Smith/The OregonianAuthorities investigate at the scene of a suspicious death in Sherwood Thursday evening.

She questioned her actions, repeatedly asking what she had done, court records say. And she inquired about her daughter's condition.

Kristina Buckley, court records say, told officers she also tried to kill herself, but couldn't. "I should have lunged at the officer when he kicked the door in," she said, according to the affidavit. "To have them complete the job I wasn't strong enough to finish."

Detectives accompanied Kristina Buckley to Providence St. Vincent's Medical Center in an ambulance. They read her Miranda Rights, and she agreed to talk to them. She told detectives she was on the couch watching television with her daughter, when she used her hands to strangle her, the affidavit says.

Investigators seized 24 poems found inside a purse and another piece of writing, among several other items, from the Buckleys' property, court records show. The Washington County Major Crimes Team continues to investigate.